Killroy Was Here
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Thought I'd post this in hopes that it might be helpful anyone who is removing their "Jeep" letters to install a tailgate blackout graphic, or changing to one of the aftermarket "GLADIATOR" tailgate letter kits that are available.
There are any number of ways to accomplish this, with most of them leaving you with a lot of residual 3M adhesive on the surfaces. This can be both messy & time consuming to clean off of both the paint, and the backside of the letters if you are going to reapply them.
The following is an easy way to remove the letters with virtually no 3M foam material or adhesive remaining on the mounting surfaces.
Items that you will want to have on hand are as follows:
A warm day of at least 60 degrees, or a heated garage in cold weather.
Heat Gun, Hair Dryer, Infrared Heat Lamp, or park with the tailgate in the sun for a while on a hot day.
Fishing Line (at least 10# test)
Plastic squeegee or wedge tool
Some type of liquid adhesive remover, such as Goo Gone, 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner, or PPG DX330 Acryli-Clean
Your first step is to warm up the tailgate & letters using your heat gun or heat lamp. Be careful not to over heat though which can soften the plastic letters. You want it warmed to the point that you can still to rest the palm of your hand on it.
Cut a section of your fishing line about 16" long & place it on the 3M foam adhesive between the top edge of one of the letters & the tailgate surface.
Using a slow sawing motion with the string parallel to the surface, work your way down about an inch or so. Note if you go too fast the friction will build up heat in the string & snap it, so go easy with it.
Once you have cut the foam down about an inch, gently pry the top of the letter outward, and insert your plastic squeegee or wedge tool to apply a constant outward pressure as you continue cutting the foam adhesive.
There are locator pins at the bottom center of the curve of the "J" and about 1 1/2" from the bottom on the stem of the "P", so you'll cut from the top down to those points, then cut up from the bottom of these letters to get them free.
After you get the letters cut & removed from the gate surface, you will have a layer of 3M foam as shown below. This image also shows the pin location for the "P".
Now get hold of the edge of the foam layer, and gently & slowly pull parallel to the gate surface. This will sheer the adhesive bond of the 3M foam tape.
Don't get in a rush, and keep the angle of the pull as flat to the surface as possible. If the panel has cooled considerably while you cut the letters free, lightly reheat the gate & foam which will help keep the foam as elastic as possible without it breaking in tiny pieces.
Don't get me wrong, as you progress, the foam will break, it's inevitable, but if you're careful you should be able to get good inch size sections to release at a time.
Roll these pieces into a ball as you go, and don't get it dirty, or drop it on the dusty ground. We're going to use this in the next step.
Now if you've held you mouth just right, & have been patient while doing this, 90% of all of the foam & adhesive should be removed from the surface. For the remaining residue, we're going to use that ball of old foam that you've been making. Hope you kept it clean.
Another little known fact about 3M foam tape is that the sticky surface of that ball you've been making will grab & pull all the small remaining bits of adhesive & foam from the paint. Just firmly stick it on the offending bit of adhesive, and roll & pull it from the paint surface. Didn't get it all?.... Hit it again.
Find it hard to believe?
The images below are of the gate with all the foam & adhesive removed using this process, and at this point absolutely no liquid adhesive remover/cleaner was used.
Now whatever adhesive remover you have on hand can be used for the final wipe down.
If you are doing a tailgate blackout graphic, and going to re-install the original letters, they can be cleaned using the exact same process.
The residual foam on the letters themselves after being cut free ended up being extremely thin or gone. So wasn't able to get quite as much off by just pulling parallel to the surface, but no worries as the trusty sticky ball of foam finished them off in good shape.
After cleaning the letters completely, now is the question of replacement 3M foam tape. The most common way to find it is at a body shop supply, but they typically only have it in 1/2", 3/4", or 1" width rolls which can range in price from $25-$40 depending on the width & length of roll you find.
This will work, but is kind of a pain when it comes time to peal & apply it.
If you would like to cut it from a larger 12" X 12" sheet for a more OEM installation & appearance, McMaster Carr has it at the following link:
https://www.mcmaster.com/1630N24/
Simply use the letters to trace them out, then cut inside of your traced line 1/8" to size it as it was originally.
Yeh, I know, there's an extra hole in the "J". Had to reshuffle my layout of the letters to minimize waist, and have a good amount left over for another project.
To maximize the adhesion of the new 3m foam to the plastic letters, it's a good idea to use the 3M Automotive Adhesion Promoter #06396.
Body shop supplies normally only sell this in bulk cartons. Unless you can find a body shop that will sell you a single packet, it's easiest to get it on Ebay, or Amazon.
Below is the finished letters, and all ready to re-install.
Hope some of this is a help.
There are any number of ways to accomplish this, with most of them leaving you with a lot of residual 3M adhesive on the surfaces. This can be both messy & time consuming to clean off of both the paint, and the backside of the letters if you are going to reapply them.
The following is an easy way to remove the letters with virtually no 3M foam material or adhesive remaining on the mounting surfaces.
Items that you will want to have on hand are as follows:
A warm day of at least 60 degrees, or a heated garage in cold weather.
Heat Gun, Hair Dryer, Infrared Heat Lamp, or park with the tailgate in the sun for a while on a hot day.
Fishing Line (at least 10# test)
Plastic squeegee or wedge tool
Some type of liquid adhesive remover, such as Goo Gone, 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner, or PPG DX330 Acryli-Clean
Your first step is to warm up the tailgate & letters using your heat gun or heat lamp. Be careful not to over heat though which can soften the plastic letters. You want it warmed to the point that you can still to rest the palm of your hand on it.
Cut a section of your fishing line about 16" long & place it on the 3M foam adhesive between the top edge of one of the letters & the tailgate surface.
Using a slow sawing motion with the string parallel to the surface, work your way down about an inch or so. Note if you go too fast the friction will build up heat in the string & snap it, so go easy with it.
Once you have cut the foam down about an inch, gently pry the top of the letter outward, and insert your plastic squeegee or wedge tool to apply a constant outward pressure as you continue cutting the foam adhesive.
There are locator pins at the bottom center of the curve of the "J" and about 1 1/2" from the bottom on the stem of the "P", so you'll cut from the top down to those points, then cut up from the bottom of these letters to get them free.
After you get the letters cut & removed from the gate surface, you will have a layer of 3M foam as shown below. This image also shows the pin location for the "P".
Now get hold of the edge of the foam layer, and gently & slowly pull parallel to the gate surface. This will sheer the adhesive bond of the 3M foam tape.
Don't get in a rush, and keep the angle of the pull as flat to the surface as possible. If the panel has cooled considerably while you cut the letters free, lightly reheat the gate & foam which will help keep the foam as elastic as possible without it breaking in tiny pieces.
Don't get me wrong, as you progress, the foam will break, it's inevitable, but if you're careful you should be able to get good inch size sections to release at a time.
Roll these pieces into a ball as you go, and don't get it dirty, or drop it on the dusty ground. We're going to use this in the next step.
Now if you've held you mouth just right, & have been patient while doing this, 90% of all of the foam & adhesive should be removed from the surface. For the remaining residue, we're going to use that ball of old foam that you've been making. Hope you kept it clean.
Another little known fact about 3M foam tape is that the sticky surface of that ball you've been making will grab & pull all the small remaining bits of adhesive & foam from the paint. Just firmly stick it on the offending bit of adhesive, and roll & pull it from the paint surface. Didn't get it all?.... Hit it again.
Find it hard to believe?
The images below are of the gate with all the foam & adhesive removed using this process, and at this point absolutely no liquid adhesive remover/cleaner was used.
Now whatever adhesive remover you have on hand can be used for the final wipe down.
If you are doing a tailgate blackout graphic, and going to re-install the original letters, they can be cleaned using the exact same process.
The residual foam on the letters themselves after being cut free ended up being extremely thin or gone. So wasn't able to get quite as much off by just pulling parallel to the surface, but no worries as the trusty sticky ball of foam finished them off in good shape.
After cleaning the letters completely, now is the question of replacement 3M foam tape. The most common way to find it is at a body shop supply, but they typically only have it in 1/2", 3/4", or 1" width rolls which can range in price from $25-$40 depending on the width & length of roll you find.
This will work, but is kind of a pain when it comes time to peal & apply it.
If you would like to cut it from a larger 12" X 12" sheet for a more OEM installation & appearance, McMaster Carr has it at the following link:
https://www.mcmaster.com/1630N24/
Simply use the letters to trace them out, then cut inside of your traced line 1/8" to size it as it was originally.
Yeh, I know, there's an extra hole in the "J". Had to reshuffle my layout of the letters to minimize waist, and have a good amount left over for another project.
To maximize the adhesion of the new 3m foam to the plastic letters, it's a good idea to use the 3M Automotive Adhesion Promoter #06396.
Body shop supplies normally only sell this in bulk cartons. Unless you can find a body shop that will sell you a single packet, it's easiest to get it on Ebay, or Amazon.
Below is the finished letters, and all ready to re-install.
Hope some of this is a help.
Sponsored
Last edited:
